NYAPRS Note: The RAND Corp. and NYU’s McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research have been charged with evaluating the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City’s “Connections to Care” initiative. “Connections to Care” is a $30 million public-private partnerships that will give staff at community-based organizations serving low-income and at-risk populations training to provide mental health services and track the impact of the program.

Researchers to Assess NYC Mental Health Training Effort

The Associated Press

NEW YORK

A consulting group and a poverty think tank have been tapped to evaluate New York City's upcoming $30 million experiment in preparing non-professionals to be mental health helpers.

The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City said Monday the RAND Corp. and New York University's McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research will assess the "Connections to Care" initiative. They applied as a pair.

Connections to Care aims to train staffers at some social-service organizations to identify possible mental health problems and provide information and some assistance.

RAND and McSilver will track such factors as whether the staffers' efforts lead to fewer hospitalizations or help participants make better use of the organizations' other services, such as job placement or child development.